Week Two College Football Recap

Week two of the 2021 college football season is in the books and most Big 12 teams still have plenty of questions to answer. Actually, all of them do. Except maybe Oklahoma. What’s new? Let’s recap each game and see how the staff’s Tallysight picks turned out for this week.

Oklahoma State- 28 Tulsa- 23

For the second straight week Oklahoma State disappointed against an inferior opponent. For the second straight week Oklahoma State’s offense disappeared for long stretches. OSU’s coaching staff made questionable decisions throughout the game once again. The ground game looked terrible because the offensive line couldn’t block anything, again. The seven point win over Missouri State raised eyebrows but now there is real reason for concern with this offense.

Oklahoma State gained just 140 yards on 43 carries, and that was aided by a 37 yard scramble from Spencer Sanders. Jaylen Warren was the most impressive back, scoring one of the most impressive 11 yard touchdown runs you will ever see. We know the quarterback is talented, and we know the running backs are talented. The offensive line needs to improve a lot if the offense is going to be half competent. Football is a game won in the trenches and when the offensive is performing, the line deserves a lot of the credit. Things aren’t going well for OSU right now and most of that is on the offensive line.

Sanders passed for 173 yards and two scores with one interception. The interception was a head scratcher and one I wonder if the jerseys had a role in. OSU wore grey and Tulsa wore white. Both teams wore white pants. That just shouldn’t be allowed no matter how dark the grey jersey is. True freshman Bryson Green had an incredible touchdown reception and freshman Jaden Bray led the team in receiving with 84 yards and a score.

The Cowboys have a lot to work on ahead of their last non-conference game on the road at Boise State on Saturday. Robert was the only one at CRFF to nail the spread but picked Tulsa outright. Everyone else picked Oklahoma State but picked OSU to cover the spread, which it most certainly did not.

TCU- 34 California- 32

TCU edged California at home behind three passing touchdowns from Max Duggan and a formidable rushing attack. The Horned Frogs struggled early in this one and probably should have beat California by more than two points. A pick-six and a 54 yard touchdown pass highlighted the scoring for California.

Zach Evans looked dominate for TCU in this game, carrying the ball 22 times for 190 yards and a score. Duggan completed 17 of his 31 passes for 234 yards and Quentin Johnson led the receivers with 95 yards and two touchdowns.

TCU has plenty to improve upon, as does most every team in the country at this point in the season. The Horned Frogs are on the cusp of being ranked in the AP top 25 and has next week off before a metroplex showdown at home with SMU to wrap up non-conference play. Everyone at CRFF picked TCU in this game and everyone missed the spread, picking TCU to win by 11 or more.

No. 4 Oklahoma- 76 Western Carolina- 0

This game doesn’t need much of an explanation. A playoff hopeful with a Heisman hopeful at quarterback boat raced a directional school from one of the Carolina’s. I don’t know which. I think Kyler Murray’s Allen High School teams from a decade ago would have put up more of a fight. Could this year’s Austin Westlake squad beat Western Carolina? I guess we’ll never know.

Spencer Rattler passed for 243 yards and five touchdowns in the first half before being pulled out of the game. Kennedy Brooks carried the ball six times for 48 yards and a score. 13 different receivers caught a pass and four different receivers scored. The five point win over Tulane was concerning but the Sooners practiced with a sense of urgency last week, according to Rattler, and erased any concerns after the big win. OU looks to be bound for a return to the College Football Playoff. Everyone picked the OU win, obviously.

Arkansas- 40 No. 15 Texas- 21

Time for everybody’s favorite segment. The early season Texas meltdown segment. It was a hell of a party in Fayetteville on Saturday night as the Hogs took down Texas. Seriously this might be the biggest Arkansas win of this century. It was definitely the biggest win of the last decade.

The Longhorns have a new coach in Steve Sarkisian but it doesn’t appear as if the culture has changed around the program at all. Arkansas was flying to the football and gang tackling on every play. On most occasions, the first Texas defender to the football would be the only one in on the tackle as the rest of the defenders gave up on the play then and there. Texas was out-played from start to finish. I am pretty sure Arkansas played exactly the type of game Sarkisian and Texas had in mind with the “all gas no brakes” moniker the team uses now. Arkansas was all gas no brakes. Texas never even started the car.

Despite the lack of urgency from Texas, the Longhorns were two or three Hudson Card overthrows away from making it an entirely different game. Card overthrew Jordan Whittington in the end zone when he was wide open. He would later overthrow two receivers who were wide open and streaking downfield behind the defense. If Card connects on those throws that’s 21 points worth of touchdowns. Different ballgame. Instead, Card was pulled in the 2nd half in favor of Casey Thompson after passing for 61 yards on eight completions and 15 attempts. Robert correctly picked Arkansas to cover the seven point spread and to win the football game, while the rest of the staff foolishly picked an uninspired Texas team to win.

West Virginia- 66 Long Island-0

Look! Another game that doesn’t need an explanation! West Virginia beat some time that would probably get smoked by Rockwall High School 66-0. There’s just nothing meaningful to take from these games.

Jarret Doege passed for 259 yards and three scores before being pulled out of the game. Garrett Greene and Leddie Brown each scored twice on the ground. West Virginia outscored Long Island U 542-95. It quite literally doesn’t get any more embarrassing than that. I would take Tyler Junior College over Long Island University. Everyone took the ridiculous 47.5 point spread that West Virginia ended up covering by almost 20 points.

No. 17 Coastal Carolina- 49 Kansas- 22

At least Coastal Carolina is ranked this time around! The Chanticleers dominated Kansas at home 49-22. Jason Bean was....not bad? The Jayhawks quarterback completed 12 of his 23 passes for 189 yards...BUT....he also rushed for 102 yards and two scores. Who knows. Maybe there’s something there.

Kansas has a long way to go as a program and quite frankly, I am not sure it will ever get where it wants to go. Lawrence, Kansas isn’t exactly a desired location. That can be overcome with good facilities, strong tradition, playing in a top tier conference, and winning. Kansas has none of that. Everyone picked Coastal Carolina in this one, and everyone was right! If Kansas wants to know what a commitment to building a football program from the ground up looks like, look no further than Coastal Carolina.

Texas Tech- 28 SFA- 22

The good news is Texas Tech looked good in an opening week win over Houston. The bad news? A six point win over SFA erases any momentum the Red Raiders had after the win over Houston. It would be one thing if Texas Tech made a handful of mistakes to keep SFA in the game. No. Stephen F. Austin out-gained Texas Tech. Re-read it. Stephen Fuller Austin (the football team, not the person) out-gained Texas Tech 375-364.

Tyler Shough, you know, the Oregon transfer who was supposed to save the day at quarterback, passed for 163 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions and completed 11 of 21 passes. Tahj Brooks rushed for 115 yards and two scores on 11 carries but most of that came from a 67 yard gain. Erik Ezukanma continues to shine as one of the best (the best?) player on this roster with six receptions for 144 yards and a score. No other receiver had more than eight yards receiving.

This is,,,,,concerning. The Red Raiders have an opportunity to bounce back at home against Florida International before opening conference play with Texas. Everyone picked Texas Tech to win, and everyone on staff was technically right. I guess this counts as a win.

No. 10 Iowa- 27 No. 9 Iowa State- 17

The first time the Cy-Hawk rivalry was played between two ranked teams went to Iowa. I can’t say I am surprised. Iowa State seems to be the kind of team that Oklahoma State was in the Mason Rudolph era. The Cyclones will win a bunch of games, play in good bowl games and win those bowl games. They won’t beat their rival and they won’t beat teams ranked in the top-10 often. There’s nothing wrong with that! Especially at programs like OSU and ISU. I was hoping Iowa State would get over the hump, but alas. OSU suffered a 10-point loss to Oklahoma in Rudolph’s last year. Brock Purdy’s likely last game against Iowa also ended in a 10-point loss. At least that Bedlam game was a lot more exciting than this season’s Cy-Hawk matchup.

Purdy passed for 138 yards but three interceptions and no touchdowns before being benched in favor of freshman quarterback Hunter Dekkers, who passed for 114 yards and a score. Breece Hall struggled as well, rushing for just 69 yards and a score on 16 carries. It’s back to the drawing board for Iowa State before conference play starts. Losing to Iowa by 10 points is much better than edging out Northern Iowa at home, but Iowa State might not be the lock it was to make the Big 12 Championship Game a few weeks ago. Ryan, Phillip and Robert picked Iowa while Micah took Iowa State.

Baylor- 66 Texas Southern- 7

At least a touchdown was scored by the underdog in this terrible matchup. Oklahoma and West Virginia shutout well overmatched opponents but the Bears allowed a touchdown. What are we doing, Baylor?? Gerry Bohanon looked sharp at quarterback, passing for 247 yards and three touchdowns. Abram Smith and Tresten Ebner rushed for 126 and 125 yards respectively and Tyquan Thornton caught five passes for 103 yards and two scores.

What does it all mean though? Baylor couldn’t beat Texas State by double digits the week before. I don’t there’s much to learn from this Baylor beatdown of Texas Southern. Just like with Oklahoma and West Virginia, at least Baylor didn’t come out and play with its food this week. That is a good sign, but it’s the only thing to really take from this game.

Kansas State- 31 Southern Illinois- 23

Speak of a team playing with its food, I give you Kansas State! The Wildcats beat Stanford by a larger margin than they beat Southern Illinois! Kansas State did lose quarterback Skylar Thompson in this game, and Thompson’s injury will keep him out for several weeks. Despite only attempting four passes, Thompson still threw for more yards (96) on four attempts than his backup, Will Howard, did (76) on 17 attempts.

Deuce Vaughn rushed for 120 yards and three scores to save the day but Kansas State is going to have to figure out a way to weather the storm until Thompson returns from injury. The Wildcats next four games are against Nevada, at Oklahoma State, (3) Oklahoma and (14) Iowa State. That’s a tough stretch of games to have to play without your starting quarterback. Howard is going to have to grow up fast. 2-2 appears to be Kansas State’s best case scenario and 0-4 isn’t totally out of the question if Howard continues to struggle.

Here are our staff results for Big 12 games in week two thanks to our friends at Tallysight. Check back here each week for a preview of the Big 12 slate and the best games from around the country and see what picks the staff makes!